Castle Finale Recap: Deadly Confessions

[The following story contains numerous spoilers from this Monday’s episode of ABC’s Castle.]

After three seasons of intrigue about the murder of Beckett’s mother (and even more torturous “Will they/Won’t they?” sexual tension between the two leads), Monday’s season finale of Castle finally offered up some confessions. With trained killer Lockwood on the loose, Beckett plunged back into her mother’s case — much to the chagrin of all the important men in her life. First, her father showed up at Castle’s door and begged him “not to let her throw her life away.” Like Captain Montgomery, he knew that Castle was the only one who could get Beckett to stand down. “She cares about you, Rick,” he told him. “And unless you’re a lot dumber than you look, I know you care about her.”

Castle let it be known just how much he cares by trying to convince Beckett to let go of the case before she got herself killed. And if not for herself, then do it for the ones who love her, like Josh. (If he loves her so much, where is he?) When Beckett asked about Castle’s own intentions, he replied, “Of course I don’t want anything to happen to you. I’m your partner. I’m your friend.”

“I don’t know what we are,” Castle continued. “We kissed and then we never talk about it. We nearly died in each other’s arms and we never talked about it. So I got no clue what we are.” Maybe he should have stopped there because after he accused Beckett of being scared and hiding in her mother’s murder like she hides in “these nowhere relationships with men you don’t love” — harsh, but true — she wanted nothing to do with him.

“You know what we are, Castle? We are over. Now get out,” she demanded.

Thankfully, Montgomery talked some sense into Beckett, revealing that he could have gotten rid of Castle at any time, but he saw “how good he was for [her]. You weren’t having any fun before he came along,” he told her.

The sweetness of the almost father/daughter-like moment was made bittersweet when Montgomery later confessed to Beckett his surprising part in her mother’s case. He was a rookie flatfoot who looked up to the dirty cops kidnapping mobsters for ransom. He believed in what they were doing. And then one day, he accidentally shot undercover FBI agent Bob Arman during the kidnapping of mobster Joe Pulgatti, who was in turn framed for Arman’s murder. It was Pulgatti’s case that Beckett’s mother was looking into.

When Beckett came into his life, Montgomery “felt the hand of God,” so he wasn’t going to let any harm come to her. He lured Beckett to the hangar to set a trap for Lockwood and his men, which meant sacrificing himself in the process. “I forgive you. You don’t have to do this,” Beckett cried as Castle dragged her away. As Montgomery lay bleeding on the ground, he told Lockwood he saw to it that “he” wouldn’t come after Beckett. Hmm, perhaps those files that Montgomery mailed were insurance?

“The best you can hope for is to find a place to make your stand. And if you’re very lucky, you find someone willing to stand with you,” Beckett said at Montgomery’s funeral, sneaking a glance at Castle. Ever observant, Castle spotted something in the distance. Before he could lunge in front of her, a sniper’s bullet hit Beckett. Cradling Kate in his arms, Castle begged her to stay with him. “I love you,” he cried — and it almost looked like she smiled at the confession before her eyes closed. So while we know Beckett will survive (come on, it’s not our first time to the TV rodeo), this is certainly a big confession that promises to shake things up for next season.

What did you think of Castle’s “I love you”? Are you sad about losing Montgomery? Were you surprised by his secret past? Who do you think is the mysterious figure he was referring to? And who do you think should be the new Captain?